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Thursday, June 28, 2012

White Chocolate Apple Walnut Granola Bars and Bon Voyage!

Well now I'm on a homemade making granola kick, but it didn't start out that way. You see, after I made those Chocolate Chunk Cherry Granola Bars, I had to make them again because the family loved them so much. I was going to send some to a friend, but then hubby ate it before I had a chance to do so. I decided to make them for the third time, only to realize I only had 1 cup of oats left and since I was packing up my kitchen and trying to run things out, I didn't want to buy more just to make these. So I decided to experiment...again...and found Apple Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal packages. This time I used up the oats, added in the apple cinnamon oatmeal, threw in some remaining white chocolate chips and walnuts I had and voila! THESE were even better than the other ones (well at least we all thought so!). They also held up better when trying to cut them so I was able to get 20 bars out of them and trust me, these are a little sweet so one bar at 108 calories each was the perfect nighttime snack with a hot cup of tea. :)

White Chocolate Apple Walnut Granola Bars6 pkg. Quaker Instant Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal1 c. Quaker Oats1/4 c. White Chocolate Chips1/4 c. Honey1/2 c. Blue Agave 1/4 c. Walnuts, finely chopped (you can omit if you have a nut allergy)In a bowl, mix together all ingredients. Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper and pour in the oat mixture. Spread so that it is evenly distributed in the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then allow to cool. (I placed mine in the freezer once the pan was cool enough to speed the process). Cut into 20 individual bars. Enjoy! Nutritional Information per Serving:

Calories 108

Calories from Fat 19

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 2.1g 3%

Saturated Fat 0.5g 3%

Sodium 50mg 2%

Total Carbohydrates 21.6g 7%

Dietary Fiber 1.3g 5%

Sugars 14.4g

Protein 1.7g

*Nutritional Information by Calorie Count and may not be 100% accurate.

And now you may be wondering about the Bon Voyage portion of this title. NO, I'm not completely shutting down, but today will be my last new recipe post for a few weeks as I will be heading out for vacation while my kitchen is being renovated. (You didn't think I could stand by and watch all of that happening around me now did you?! =] And for those of you who didn't know, CEK is FINALLY getting a real life kitchen makeover. No more 1965 kitchen with painted white cabinets (over mahogany frames)!

This was Demo Day (minus the appliances that were sold)

So we're leaving our dear friend and trusted General Contractor here to oversee everything while we're gone. My family and I will be traveling to Europe to experience some wonderful sights, eat incredible food and take in all of the history we can. We are all very excited and blessed that life has allowed us to take this opportunity at this point in our lives and I can't wait to share it all with you! I will be checking in periodically through Instagram, Facebook and Twitter so be on the lookout for updates.

Our stops will include:

Barcelona, Spain

Livorno, Italy (Florence/Pisa)

Rome, Italy

Naples, Italy (Sorrento)

Messina, Italy (Sicily)

Nafplion, Greece

Corfu, Greece

Katakolon, Greece

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Venice, Italy

Paris, France

DON'T WORRY, I'm not going to leave you empty handed!!! I have arranged for some of my fabulous foodie friends to help me out while I'm gone so there will be a new recipe post on the blog almost every day...See, I'm always thinking! They have some special treats in store for you that you won't want to miss...TRUST ME!!! :)

Thank you in advance to all of my Guest Bloggers for helping me out while I'm away. I'll miss chatting with all of you each day and I'm sure all of my CEK friends will love your blogs as much as I do. Wishing you all a FABULOUS Summer!